Just trying to inject a little life into the ole forum.

[Salty Cracker]

The way I see it, if you guys (and gals) are able to at least attempt to keep saltwater coral alive, you probably have a fairly good grasp on 'whatever' other hobbies you spend time at. Without being able realistically to have a saltwater setup where I'm at, I'm sort of meandering around with other hobbies.

I also know that the saltwater bug comes and goes...what do you all do in the meantime between epic tank builds?

I'm hitting that age where I had best think about hobbies that don't require quite the mobility of some of my current ones (snowmobiling, competitive shooting, renovations, hiking, heavy equipment repair).

What are you guys into other than saltwater?

 

[Tim A]

I can’t keep SPS alive

 

[Salty Cracker]

I would have to guess it's water quality. I couldn't grow it either until I started testing to 0TDS water, never changing my type of salt, and using jars of GFO.


That said, I'm now looking at HO scale trains or slot cars as an 'old guy' hobby

 

[Shooter000]

I would have to guess it's water quality. I couldn't grow it either until I started testing to 0TDS water, never changing my type of salt, and using jars of GFO.


That said, I'm now looking at HO scale trains or slot cars as an 'old guy' hobby

Go for the ho scale trains, slot cars are a pain in the arse, rusting,voltage drop, constant repairs to run optimal, train tech these days is amazing, ho scale offers the most types of trains and most realistic , N scale is smaller, you can do more track but not as realistic with buildings and sceneries, i did both hobbies as a young buck,trains are way better, lol

 

[chrisstevens]

I,ve been in to other livestock the last few years , turtles, salamanders and newts, as well as some fresh water fish breeding in my turtle tank ( large frag tank converted over). Been doing my part to help local turtle populations.

 

[dale]

after i shut down my reef tank and been keeping my fowlr tank i went a little crazy with RC cars, that was intense for a few years,, then i went on to cool bb guns.. full auto with all the accessories, that didnt last long, i jazzed up 2 and that was enough.. now ive been collecting sneakers for a couple years now.. the "shoe game " is nuts and almost as mind consuming as reef tanks..(and can be just as expensive) there is soo much to know and learn, plus it changes constanly.. and lots of squarebody stuff inbetween all that.. i am a hobby addict.. lol

 

[dale]

I would have to guess it's water quality. I couldn't grow it either until I started testing to 0TDS water, never changing my type of salt, and using jars of GFO.


That said, I'm now looking at HO scale trains or slot cars as an 'old guy' hobby

trains are super cool , can def be just as involving as learnin to get a reef tank going.. .. start as big as you can lol.

 

[TORX]

Trains you say? I know nothing about them really, but designing and 3d printing trains for a local guy is keeping my head above water financially. He does G 1:29 but then he has me scale down to HO, S and even wants me to do Z (although I have not done it yet). He also has me doing 100's of parts that he can not find in Canada.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I,ve been in to other livestock the last few years , turtles, salamanders and newts, as well as some fresh water fish breeding in my turtle tank ( large frag tank converted over). Been doing my part to help local turtle populations.

I used to have turtles too. Damn things grow FAST. When I was a kid I was fascinated with snakes, frogs and especially turtles. There's not a whole lot of them waaaay up here where I'm at, but there's a lake about 20 mins away where there are so many, that they have signs on the road to please not squish them.

I used to keep hermit crabs too, fascinating little creatures. Very likely I didn't give them a very decent environment, but I did keep them alive a long time as I recall. Pets are fantastic.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Trains you say? I know nothing about them really, but designing and 3d printing trains for a local guy is keeping my head above water financially. He does G 1:29 but then he has me scale down to HO, S and even wants me to do Z (although I have not done it yet). He also has me doing 100's of parts that he can not find in Canada.

A buddy of mine is into trains, he's telling me that individual cars can go for $500, and I guess they look incredible. I tell you, with GenX getting old, and entertainment sucking donkey balls, I think we're going to see quite a resurgence in train modelling. I mean I was shocked that slot cars were still a fairly big thing in certain circles...I've not really wanted to dive too deep into trains in case I get hooked...$400 each starts to really add up, that used to get you a new gun, and a train is only really as interesting as its length.

 

[Salty Cracker]

after i shut down my reef tank and been keeping my fowlr tank i went a little crazy with RC cars, that was intense for a few years,, then i went on to cool bb guns.. full auto with all the accessories, that didnt last long, i jazzed up 2 and that was enough.. now ive been collecting sneakers for a couple years now.. the "shoe game " is nuts and almost as mind consuming as reef tanks..(and can be just as expensive) there is soo much to know and learn, plus it changes constanly.. and lots of squarebody stuff inbetween all that.. i am a hobby addict.. lol

My friend's son was REALLY into shoes, but he was doing it for $$. figuring out what was going to be the in thing and buying large lots, things like that. I don't know if it was a hobby or he was addicted to cash, but I tell you, the kid knew a whole lot about shoes. I wouldn't even know what you're talking about if not for that. As deep as I ever go with footwear is I found out last year that a properly fitted pair of cowboy boots are the most comfortable, and I mean BY FAR pair of foot coverings I have ever owned. I had a pair once that drove me crazy, but I'd never been fitted and had a pair made "for me", and then wore them in. People who have never owned a proper pair are missing out on an experience. Plus, good for avoiding pesky rattler bites

 

[Salty Cracker]

Go for the ho scale trains, slot cars are a pain in the arse, rusting,voltage drop, constant repairs to run optimal, train tech these days is amazing, ho scale offers the most types of trains and most realistic , N scale is smaller, you can do more track but not as realistic with buildings and sceneries, i did both hobbies as a young buck,trains are way better, lol

When I was a kid I did up a large track, but was WAY more into the landscape and models than I was into racing, so I fear you are right. I'm planning a "model building" room here, some place with a fume hood, a comfy seat and some good lighting...It's very likely I'll end up one of those werid old men with the crazy train setup that the family takes to the dump the day I die. I'm trying to put it off as long as possible, but the interest has always been there. I tell you, what started it was green lichen/moss. When I was a kid I'd buy bags of that stuff for trees/shrubs in the modeling. I was always impressed that they made it so realistic looking. I didn't know it was REAL moss...now I have thousands of pounds of it if I wanted, so a LOT of the landscaping would be pretty darned cheap, and as Torx mentioned, 3D modelling would help IMMENSELY in the hobby. Maybe that's where we'll all end up, making model train products instead of coral frags lol.

Even Aliexress is a source of parts and lights, the lighting would be SO MUCH more awesome than it was back in my day, we only had those little wheat bulbs, and they burned out a LOT.

Argh, I hate when I feel the tickle of a hobby gnawing at me. Hobbies get expensive.

 

[MrHermit85]

I shut down my last tank when my kid was small and required alot of attention a while back. Then got in to building mtb bikes, and now R/C tanks with my kid who is now 10. Problem is nothing kept me as interested as my reef tanks haha. We are now planning another.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Reef tanks are all encompassing. I know the ONE time I took a week vacation to Mexico my tank emptied itself onto the floor. I do have to admit that moving and having to tear down was a bit of a relief. I DID take the $ I was putting into saltwater and put it into my gun hobby, but I've hit the point where I've bought n' sold almost every gun that is available in Canada, at one time or another, and all the guns I want are pistols....and I can only get those through the Rez now, and that's not really a great option. The only thing really holding me back from trains is the cost of the cars now, and the $$ to set up a large track from scratch...

Doesn't anyone have an all encompassing FREE hobby? lol

 

[MrHermit85]

I wish I could find one that was all encompassing and less frustrating.

 

[Tim A]

Trains you say? I know nothing about them really, but designing and 3d printing trains for a local guy is keeping my head above water financially. He does G 1:29 but then he has me scale down to HO, S and even wants me to do Z (although I have not done it yet). He also has me doing 100's of parts that he can not find in Canada.

I have wanted to try 3D printing, but there are so many printers out there that I don’t have a clue where to start.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I bought the Anycubic Vyper printer, I think they're now pushing the kobra now, but the expense of course is the filament. I don't think I even spend $500 on the printer.
Then it's a matter of being able to create the parts you want. I knew autocad, so I went with 3dsmax to make models, but there's other software out there. So far I've had good luck with my setup. I haven't tried the resin printers.

I wouldn't be without one, such a useful tool for printing weird parts. I needed round T-grommets for the windows on my skid steer, I couldn't find the exact dimensions, so just printed them in flexible filament, they worked perfectly. Not a lot of strength to 3d prints, I mean they don't fall apart but you don't want to put a lot of shear stress on them, but for what they are, they work great.

 

[Tim A]

I bought the Anycubic Vyper printer, I think they're now pushing the kobra now, but the expense of course is the filament. I don't think I even spend $500 on the printer.
Then it's a matter of being able to create the parts you want. I knew autocad, so I went with 3dsmax to make models, but there's other software out there. So far I've had good luck with my setup. I haven't tried the resin printers.

I wouldn't be without one, such a useful tool for printing weird parts. I needed round T-grommets for the windows on my skid steer, I couldn't find the exact dimensions, so just printed them in flexible filament, they worked perfectly. Not a lot of strength to 3d prints, I mean they don't fall apart but you don't want to put a lot of shear stress on them, but for what they are, they work great.

If looking for one, would you look at used ones? Or should one be careful about that and better off to get new? I see several on FB Marketplace

 

[Salty Cracker]

If looking for one, would you look at used ones? Or should one be careful about that and better off to get new? I see several on FB Marketplace

I'd go new. Too many little issues that can come up with these things. A lot of people do upgrade to newer or better printers, but you just don't know if they are selling because of upgrade, or pawning off a problem.

There is a learning curve to them, although the newer printers take care of a lot of them like self levelling of the bed....that's a real nice feature..

 

[TORX]

I have wanted to try 3D printing, but there are so many printers out there that I don’t have a clue where to start.

I just run a Ender 5 Plus with Microswiss NG hotend and SonicPad for my FDM and 2 Anycubic X2's. I do a lot of work on trains for people here in Ontario and diecast car parts for a guy in the US. I also do random jobs for people. Everything from design to the final product. Heck, my US guy will order 500 of a part at a time. It is his slow season though so spending my time designing and hoping to grab a few commission jobs.